Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars

8 Aug 2009

I regard copyright as a set of social relations, and not as a property right. The advantage in regarding copyright as a system of social relationships is that it focuses attention where it belongs: in mediating conflicts within that system, and not, as the copyright as property model does, by positing ownership of a property right in the Blackstonian sense of exercising absolute dominion as the natural state of affairs, and by regarding every effort to regulate for the public interest to be a hostile act that must be ferociously fought against as if it is an existential threat. Conversely, when we regard copyright as a set of social relationships, we can ditch the calls for its abolition: what we should want is not the absence of a copyright law, but rather an effective copyright law.

Going to the City of lights for a short stay? I have a flat to rent in Paris. Roomy (up to 6 people), comfortable, calm, fully furnished, modern, with broadband internet, private terrasse, garden and parking… You'll love it (I did when I lived there!). Visit appartement-jardin-paris.com for more information and booking.